Great Britain sidelined on the World Stage

War in Europe is a serious business. In the 21st Century it is a shameful business. There are too many depressing echoes to the Ukraine story.

So it has at least been encouraging that leaders have been - in Churchill's words - doing a bit of "jaw jaw" to try and stop the "war war".

But where were the UK's leaders? Once upon a time Britain always had a seat at the high table. For such a military and diplomatic power anything else would have been unthinkable.

As Europe's leading leaders and the US worked for a solution with Ukraine and Russia where was our Prime Minister?

Of course busy at a photo opportunity on the set of British TV soap Emmerdale.

Whatever your opinions on Blair, Brown or Thatcher they would never have allowed themselves or the United Kingdom to have been sidelined like this.